K-State’s Chambers Named All-Big 12 First Team

Kansas State guard Brittany Chambers (2) drives to the basket in front of Oklahoma State forward Toni Young, left, and forward Lindsey Keller, center, in the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in Stillwater, Okla., Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012. Kansas State won 67-56. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

IRVING, Texas – For the third time in her career, Kansas State senior guard Brittany Chambers was selected to the All-Big 12 First Team in an announcement by the league office on Thursday morning. She was also named the inaugural Scholar-Athlete of the Year for women’s basketball. Chambers is the third player in school history to earn All-Big 12 First Team honors in three straight seasons, joining Nicole Ohlde and Kendra Wecker.

For the season, Chambers has registered career season-highs in three major statistical categories and is the only player in the Big 12 to score 600 or more points (607; 20.2 ppg), grab 200 or more rebounds (225; 7.5 rpg) and dish out 90 or more assists (93; 3.1 apg). She is the fourth player to reach this milestone in league history and it is the fifth time this has been achieved. She joins former Wildcat Nicole Ohlde as the only player in school history to achieve these numbers in a single season.

The 607 points are a career-high for Chambers and ranks as the second-highest point total by a K-State senior in school history and the sixth-highest overall point total for a single-season in program history. She needs three points to become the school record holder for points by a senior.

Chambers has scored in double figures in 28 of the 30 games this season, including a career-high 16 games of 20 or more points. The 16 games with 20 or more points are the most by a Wildcat since the 2003-04 season when Kendra Wecker tallied 16 games with 20 or more points. Chambers is tied with Wecker and Andria Jones for the most games of 20 or more points in a single-season in the Deb Patterson era.

In league action, Chambers averaged 20.6 points, 7.2 rebounds and 3.2 assists. She ranked second in the league in scoring, 10th in rebounding, 11th in assists and paced the league in minutes played per game. She scored in double figures in 17 of the 18 league contests and scored 20 or more points in 10 league games.

In addition to her on court honors, Chambers was recognized as the inaugural Big 12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year for women’s basketball. Beginning with the current academic year, the Big 12 is honoring a student-athlete in each sport for their dedication in the classroom as well as to their respective sport. Chambers, a pre-med major, holds a 3.5 grade point average.

Earlier this season, Chambers earned Academic All-Big 12 First Team honors for the third time in her career. She is also one of 10 national finalists for the Senior CLASS Award. Fan voting for the Senior CLASS Award continues through March 25 at the Senior CLASS Award website (www.seniorclassaward.com) or on the Senior CLASS Award Facebook fan page. Fan votes will be combined with media and Division I head coaches’ votes to determine the winner.

Since the formation of the Big 12 in 1996-97, Kansas State has received 39 All-Big 12 honors by 17 different players. Of the 39 All-Big 12 citations, 17 have been on the first team, seven second team honors, four third team recipients and 11 honorable mention honors.

In Big 12 individual awards announced on Thursday, senior Brittney Griner of Baylor was named the Big 12 Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year for the third straight season. The Lady Bears, the 2013 Big 12 regular season champion, also saw head coach Kim Mulkey earn her third straight Big 12 Coach of the Year honors.

In addition to Chambers and Baylor’s Griner, other players named to the All-Big 12 first team were: Odyssey Sims of Baylor, Hallie Christofferson and Chelsea Poppens of Iowa State, Angel Goodrich of Kansas, Aaryn Ellenberg of Oklahoma, Toni Young of Oklahoma State, Chynna Brown of Texas Tech and Christal Caldwell of West Virginia.

On the Big 12 second team were: Carolyn Davis of Kansas, Joanna McFarland of Oklahoma, Tiffany Bias of Oklahoma State and Casey Morris and Monique Smalls of Texas Tech.

Kansas State finished the regular season with a 14-16 overall record and a 5-13 mark in the Big 12, which was eighth in the Big 12 standings. K-State will face the No. 9 seed Texas (12-17, 5-13) in the 2013 Phillips 66 Big 12 Women’s Basketball Championships in Dallas, Texas at the American Airlines Center. Friday night’s game will be available for free on the Big 12 Digital Network. To access the Big 12 Digital Network, go to www.big12sports.com.

Friday’s game will also be broadcast on the radio through the K-State Sports Network and for free online at kstatesports.com/allaccess. Handling the radio broadcast will be the award-winning Brian Smoller on play-by-play and former Wildcat letterwinner Kristin Waller with the analysis. Fans can also follow the free live stats at kstatesports.com and receive updates on Twitter by following @kstate_gameday.

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